THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS - Asian-American groups flexing political muscle
ESTHER WU | Thursday, October 27, 2004

With the presidential elections five days away, many Asian-Americans across this country have been discussing the political process.

According to the latest U.S. census figures, Asian-Americans represent one of the fast-growing segments of the population. It stands to reason, then, that as more and more immigrants become eligible to vote, Asian-American voters are becoming an important part of the political process in this country.

But we haven't gotten to this point without help.

Asian-Americans are learning to flex their political muscle. Efforts include local grassroots organizations in North Texas such as the Voice of Asian American Association, which focuses on voter registration, and the Asian American Citizens Council, which is working to get more minorities appointed to boards and elected to public office, as well as 80-20, a national nonpartisan political organization whose goal is to create an Asian voting bloc in presidential races.

APIAVOTE 2004, a national coalition of nonpartisan nonprofit organizations that encourages civic participation and promotes a better understanding of public policy and the electoral process among Americans of Asian and Pacific islander descent, has also been working to guide constituents through the political process.

According to Janelle Hu, APIAVOTE national campaign coordinator, "With less than a week before the election, Asian/Pacific islander Americans are tirelessly mobilizing to ensure eligible voters are educated on important issues affecting the community and get out to the polls Nov. 2. An unprecedented number of them have already cast their ballots via early and absentee voting. Millions more will race to the polls ... including legions of newly registered APIA voters."

Election hotline

APIAVOTE is working with the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund to staff an election hotline to answer questions and to conduct election monitoring and exit polling in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Virginia. Volunteers will be checking for Asian-language ballots, interpreters and other bilingual voting materials required under section 203 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 203 requires language assistance when a minority group exceeds 10,000 or 5 percent of voting-age citizens among the local population.

The passage of the Help America Vote Act has also created many new procedural issues, including a requirement that first-time voters present a form of photo identification at the polls when voting. Also under this new act, provisional ballots must be made available to voters who believe they are registered but are not listed on the voter registration books due to a processing error. In the past, many of these voters were simply turned away and not allowed to vote.

Through community partners and allies, according to Ms. Hu, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium will also monitor elections and conduct exit polls in California, Texas and Washington.

Asian-Americans wishing to file complaints or ask questions about election irregularities can call the National APIA Voter Complaint Hotline at 1-800-966-5946.

Discrimination

Volunteers are being trained to field complaints of voter discrimination, intimidation and denial of language assistance. Telephone assistance will be provided in Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Hindi, Punjabi and English.

"In 2000, as the nation focused on voting problems in Florida, in New York City ballots flipped the translated party headings with Democrats listed as Republicans and vice versa; interpreter shortages led to Asian voters being turned away because there was no one to assist them; and poll workers were rude, hostile and made racist remarks about Asian-American voters and their English proficiency," AALDEF staff attorney Glenn D. Magpantay said in a statement.

"We will guard against the disenfranchisement of new citizens and first-time voters in November. Over 600 attorneys, law students and volunteers will cover precincts where there has been a history of voter intimidation and racist remarks made by elected officials against APIAs."

Ms. Hu added, "We are working closely with civil rights advocates across the country to ensure Asian/Pacific islander Americans will be able to voice our vote Nov. 2."